Not Gray
by Ablazeea
Summary: Scouts never knew who would stay outside those walls forever. It was only natural for them to barricade their hearts in fortresses that let them keep their sanity when those close to them finally fell. After all, they always did and it happened sooner rather than later… Still, at times one can't help but let somebody slip in… Levi x OC. Rated T for cursing and violence.
1. Prologue

**847, April 22**

He couldn't really remember when it was that he had seen her for the first time. Probably, he was looking at her many times and had answered numerous greetings coming from her, but he couldn't recall any. She was just another face in the Scouting Legion. Merely another colorless and featureless face, which was going to fade in the oncoming expeditions… Dying in the jaws of those gigantic monsters… Just like most did. To him, she was just as transparent and colorless as nearly all of human population was.

Until that day, that is… On that one day, on that one expedition, reality forced him to open his eyes and look at her. Not just look, but see her. When he did, shock made him freeze on his horse as it galloped towards the scene on its own. Did he really think of her as of someone who was going to become titan's meal before?... He must have been blind.

The hatred which emanated from her eyes as she sliced a perfect chunk out of deviant's neck and then used the gigantic body as a support for her feet to propel herself back had his eyes glued on her form. Her movements were light, almost weightless yet the momentum of those moves and her gear gave her so much speed and power that her blades dug as deep into the flesh as they could go. Though, he couldn't help but note – she was using too much gas and dulling her blades too much far too quickly…

She proceeded to launch the 3DMG towards another titan, as the last one was evaporating, maneuvering out of the beast's direct way and making a fast flight for the back of his neck. He watched her kill three deviants all by herself in a matter of seconds and then flip in midair before touching down onto the ground.

He didn't even realize when his horse had stopped and he just sat there, staring out of surprise more than anything. Those moves… Those vivid and real emotions on her face… That inward calmness with which she swiftly dealt with the titans… She was becoming colored right in front of him. The gray and featureless face was suddenly clear in his mind.

/*==*\

After the expedition, he found out her name, as her team's leader screamed at her in the halls of the Scouting Legion, for everyone to see and hear.

Odilie Artz.

He couldn't help but think that her leader was an idiotic piece of shit. She had disobeyed the orders, true. She had left her own position in the team to hurry to another group in another wing, which was firing black smoke signals repeatedly. It was a fact. However, her misbehavior had actually saved the supplies, letting them go on longer with their mission and thus, reaching their destination. It was also a fact.

Besides, it was ironic, considering he was doing exactly the same as she was – galloping towards the team after seeing the third black smoke signal. The difference was – she got there first and she wasn't an officer, thus the treatment.

Oh, and add to the list that he didn't have an idiotic team leader.

As he was passing that yelling man and her in the hall, his and Odilie's eyes locked. In that split moment, he realized something – there was no guilt in her eyes. The determination and amusement he saw in them made him sure of one thing – she was no puppet and if it meant she'd disobey an order to save someone, she'd disobey.

A ghost of a smirk tugged on the corners of his lips as he positioned his eyes forward and ingrained that name and face deep into his mind. He knew – if there was a need, he'd have a person other than Irvin and elites to rely on on the battlefield. Someone, who will not die easily. Someone, who knows what comes first. Someone, who is not gray.

Although… that vivid someone had a lot to improve on… Especially her discipline.

/*==*\

\*==*/

A small Shingeki no Kyojin, Levi x OC, fanfic/one-shot.

I wanted to write something but didn't know exactly what. After letting my fingers tap freely on the keyboard, this is the result. The idea is abstract, so is the OC (hopefully, she didn't come out as the beginnings of a Mary-Sue), no real plot is present. Still, I hope that someone will enjoy this :)

It has been some time since I have read the manga and I had "marathoned" (it was just thaaaaat good, I couldn't stop XDDD) through it, so there might be things that are out of place in the original universe. For that, please forgive me and let me know :)

Also, please forgive me for the grammar mistakes that I might have left. English is not my native language and even if I try, sometimes I just don't know which mistakes are actually mistakes :D Either way, please let me know about them!

**Disclaimer**: This fanfiction was written purely to give my brain something to do. I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or anything related to it. All the rights go to the owners. The character which is Odilie, however, belongs to me.

**Edit**:

A shout-out to hiyomi for bringing the original timeline issue to my attention. The years didn't add up to what I was writing, both the fact that Levi wasn't with the Scouts in 841 and their formation was decoys-and-attack-teams back then. Thank you for that a lot hiyomi!

Right now, this is taking place during the year 847 – two years after the wall had fallen. Levi has just been promoted to Corporal and this is his first mission as one.

And the last thing I want to say is… Because of the awesome reviewers who had encouraged me, I will be continuing this one-shot and developing it into a story. I still don't know if it will be a linear story or a series of one-shots revolving around Levi and Odilie as the years pass by, but you can expect a continuation of some sort :)

Thank you for reading and especially to the awesome reviewers! You guys encourage me greatly!


	2. Chapter 1

**847, June 15 **

**Part 1**

In the list of Odilie's favorite things, early mornings were on top of it. Most would say it was because it meant that she was still alive, having survived yet another day in this world, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong but reality was much simpler…

For the first part… When everyone still slept… When you could hear the birds chirping… It seemed like titans didn't exist. It was moments like these that let her dream of a simple life where no one fought and no one died, because at all other times of the day, the true reality manifested itself in the worst possible forms, ranging from never-ending memories to nightmares which awoke her gasping for air.

Mornings were one of the few things that brought some calmness to her heart.

As for the second reason…

'_Beautiful…_' She let a satisfied sigh out, her left hand supporting her head whereas the other kept drawing circles on the edge of her cup. She loved silence and colors this time of the day brought. Besides that, the day seemed to be gorgeous…

The soft warm tones were already starting to disappear and soon the veil of dimness would be gone with the summer sun, recoloring the surroundings into brighter tones yet again. When that happened, scouts would start to awaken and flood the halls of their headquarters. A new day in the Scouting Legion would begin yet again. Until then, she was free to enjoy the quietness of her favorite time of the day. Like always…

With this thought, her eyes closed.

Odilie had spent so much time in the Legion that it had already began scaring her a bit. She knew exactly what was going to happen where.

Irvin would be up before the bells which signaled the start of another day for the scouts. He'd be as awake as ever and with that grim expression on his face and a load of papers in his hands would head from his room to the office.

He'd meet Eckart on his way, at the same time in the same place as ever, who would trudge slowly to the bathrooms, still in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes and yawning. The younger man would blink the sleep away as soon as his eyes landed on the Commander and he'd fall into a greeting, dropping the towels with his other things onto the ground. Irvin would tug his lips into a smile at this, involuntarily, and then help him pick everything up. Honestly, this repeated each and every morning and the timing and the place of it never ceased to amaze her. Their bodies' clocks must have been set in stone for this to keep happening for so many years…

As for Odilie, she knew it because that view always made her day, ever since she began noticing this. Once she did, it became a ritual for her to go there and tease the two. After that, she'd usually have a great morning, able to smile ear to ear just because of that. After all, it's the little things in life…

Then, she'd meet Leo, who would leave her room, timidly looking around, and, as soon as her eyes landed on Odie, beam a bright smile before going back to her shy behavior and rushing to her and the two men. A beautiful salute would follow this. After that, the two females would proceed to the board, where everyone's duties for the day were pinned.

They'd find Petra here, already examining who was assigned to what job. After a cheerful informal greeting between her and Petra and another salute from Leo, the three women would make their way to the dining hall, chatting about anything that came to their minds. Well, at the very least Odilie with Petra would… Leo would be a pace behind her two elders and nervously play with her belt buckles, listening to the women.

Just before reaching the hall, they'd usually run into Hanji, who'd throw herself at the trio, hugging the hell out of the shortest in the group – which happened to be her. Odilie would take this with an annoyed face, but say nothing. Once she was released, she'd sigh and be on her way, mumbling incoherent things and fixing her hair which Zoe never failed not to touch. In a way, the woman was a lot like her oldest brother Kurt so she could never get seriously mad at her…

After this, the routine would snap, having in mind Hanji's crazy personality.

Odilie found that she loved such mornings. Routine was something she began appreciating after all the insane shit that had happened in her life. Mundane meant no surprises, no deaths and lots of laughter, which she missed dearly before a lot of people joined following the fall of Wall Maria.

/*==*\

The young female opened her eyes and stretched. The sun had risen and was already pretty high. She had zoned out for quite a while it seemed… It had to be merely half an hour at most before the bells began ringing. And this meant that she had to get a move on already.

She grabbed the cup from the table and stood up. When she turned to her left she nearly had a heart attack, flinching after seeing she wasn't alone in the kitchen anymore. Her eyes met cold steel ones as the man was leaning against the cupboards, his gaze unmoving from her form.

Odilie blinked a couple of times. For the life of her, she couldn't remember his name, although she greeted him formally many times and also had heard that he got pretty famous rather quickly. Besides that, he had just been promoted, like some two or three months ago…

Seemed stupid not to know who her Corporal was? Well, then consider her stupid. The only reason she even knew he was her superior was because of his chilling and unapproachable looks, which was impossible to mistake with anyone else's. Add to this that so far she didn't have even small dealings with him. She'd see him in the halls and would greet him, his eyes sweeping past her, not even seeing her most likely even if he would respond to this.

Besides that, what was the point in remembering people's names when there was a bigger chance in them dying than surviving? After all, she didn't even hear of him graduating from the Military Training… It was beyond her how and why he joined… Promotion was a total mystery… Then again, there were rumors of their new Corporal being a natural genius with 3DMG…

"… Corporal." She fell into a salute, hiding her cup behind her back with her left hand. He nodded, sipping on his coffee. His expression was as cold and bored as ever. However, that intense gaze was making her uncomfortable. Odie could only think that those eyes were far from uninterested…

'… _I'm getting out of here._'

Without further wait, she made her way to the sink. Hurriedly, Odilie washed her cup, not even having to look to know that his eyes were following her every movement. This was a bit unnerving. He had never even taken the time to properly look at her before and now it seemed like she had his full attention. And she doubted it was because she was the only person in the room…

"Why the gear so early in the morning?" His voice startled her and she dropped the cup. Thankful to her quick reflexes, she managed to catch it before it had reached the surface of the sink.

Odilie looked down at the metal sheaths on her thighs, six blades in each and weighing the belts down slightly. She could feel the operating device at her sides just under her chest and the maneuver mechanism pressed a bit too tightly on her back. All of those sensations were so familiar to her that she forgot more than just half of the time she had her gear on…

'_I'll have to correct that one once I'm out of here…_' She slightly tugged at the back where the maneuver mechanism was, realizing that she had also forgotten her jacket when it didn't brush her hand.

Her gaze shifted to the man. His gear was present as well. Her eyebrow rose.

"I can ask you the same, Corporal."

"True. But I had asked first." His cup now sat on the cupboard, empty, and his hands were crossed. Startled, she realized she didn't hear, feel or even see that happen…

Odilie shrugged, positioning her eyes back to the cup, and grabbed a rag that hung nearby.

"Shit happens." Corporal nodded, obviously well aware of what she was trying to say. The silence that followed meant that he held the same position as she on the matter.

The young woman put the now clean cup down with the others and hung the rag. Then, she turned to the man who hadn't moved since.

"Corporal." She saluted and he nodded. Apparently, this was his way of dismissing her.

Without further ado, Odilie turned on her heels and hurried out, cursing out loud as bells rang before she could step out the threshold. At once, she got into a run. She had already missed the first part of her morning show…

/*==*\

\*==*/

**General notes/rants**:

Sorry that updates might take a while, but I am in the middle of my finals so it will take me some time to think up chapters that have a nice flow and make some sense. Besides, I didn't quite think that writing a SnK fanfic in another timeline than the manga will be this hard… You can't even imagine how many times I had to adjust this story's timeline, characters' ages or something else after re-watching the anime and constantly finding things that didn't quite add up. I stopped counting how many times I have rewritten draft chapters in completely different settings too… ^^''' At the very least, I seem to have a quite solid past for Odie…

This is a bit slow right now but I'll get things rolling a bit more with the next one :)

**Summary**: That's a subject for change, unfortunately… Don't be surprised if it really changes as I am not very sure what will fit this fanfic best yet…

**Dates**: EVERY SINGLE DATE THAT YOU FIND HERE MIGHT CHANGE. Every. Single. One. Although I hope this won't happen, I can't guarantee this right now.

**Some info on OC characters** (as of 847, June 15):

_Odilie Artz_. Age: 21. Years of birth: 826, near the end of the year. Height: 157cm. Looks: **

_Leonore Volk_ (aka Leo). Age: 15. Date of birth: 833, end of the year. Height: 165cm. Looks: blonde hair, blue eyes, dainty build.

_Kurt Artz_. ?

**I find it easier to write when I pay little attention to such details and it also gives a chance for readers to paint the main character themselves. However, that doesn't mean that I do not know how she looks. If you want to imagine her the same way that I do, not interpret her yourselves, do let me know and I'll post a link to her picture on my profile.

**Notes on Levi's age**: I found somewhere that in an interview SnK author Isayama-sensei had said that Levi is around 30. Fans' calculations say (again, where did I find this?) that he has to be 23 at least. Quite a few say that he is 28.

…

Well, heck. Didn't expect that one X.X. Still, I'm sticking to this. As I assumed that the age was when attack on Trost began and this is happening before it, I'm making Levi 25, so when I catch up to manga, he will be 28.

**SnK facts/errors/grammar mistakes**: Found any? Don't hesitate to let me know! Any mistake I correct early on will help me to write later!

**Disclaimer**: Characters which you do not recognize belong to me. Everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Thank you for reading, enjoying, favoring, following and/or reviewing!


	3. Chapter 2

**847, June 15**

**Part 2**

Just like Odilie had thought – Irvin with Eckart were nowhere in sight when she had gotten to that certain hallway. Plenty of scouts scurried past but those two were nowhere to be found. And, with a sigh, the woman realized that neither was Leo. This was starting to become a very boring day and Odie couldn't help but wish that something happened to brighten it up…

"Odie!~" The woman jumped up in a slight startle when she heard the hyper-mega-excited voice behind her. She was about to spin around to the crazy researcher but didn't have the chance as she suddenly felt a weight on her back, hands winding around her neck and chest and squeezing it with enough power to block her air intake.

Odilie nearly lost her balance with the additional mass and the force of the jump almost rammed her into the wall in front of her. Thankfully, she managed to stop that from happening by desperately throwing her hands in front to steady herself against it.

"Good morning!~" The brunette yelled obliviously and excitedly as Odie struggled to keep herself standing… and breathing…

"Air!" She cried out. Odilie would have tried to drop her off, however the thought of damaging both her neck further and the 3DMG in the process stopped her. After all, Zoe wouldn't let that happen willingly and it would most likely cause only more trouble…

"Whoopsie." The brunette chuckled, immediately getting off her. That, however, was of little help to the shorter female because the next second she was spun around and glomped, finding her nose pressed against the other female's neck.

"Hanji!" Odilie whined, trying to pry her off and struggling but to no avail. The woman was stronger than a titan in her physical strength… "It's too early for harassment!"

"It's not harassment!" Hanji moved a bit away so she could show Odie her pout. The shorter female gave her a disbelieving look.

"What do you call this then?"

"A morning greeting!" Hanji grinned. And she was back to hugging the hell out of her…

"Gah! Stop it already! And since when is harassment called 'greeting'?" There was no answer and Odilie didn't really wait for one. The brunette was already at the usual morning routine, one hand reaching for her hair. "Oh, who am I kidding?... Talking never worked with this woman…" Odilie sighed under her breath, dropping any kind of resistance, and Hanji let a chuckle escape, her hand already in the process of successfully making Odie look like she hadn't seen a hairbrush for a month…

Scouts watched the view, curiously, as they passed by. Most were already used to this because this was brunette researcher's way of greeting Odilie whenever they saw each other after a longer period of time, even if it was a couple of hours since their last meeting… However, that didn't mean it still didn't make them smile.

There were a couple of familiar chuckles and Odie looked over Hanji's shoulder. Petra and Leo stood several steps away, looking at the two. Most likely they had just gotten there because Odilie would have noticed them by now otherwise.

The woman put an even more annoyed expression on her face, rotating her pointing finger at her temple and giving a gesture at Hanji. This earned another bout of giggles from the two women, one shy, as Leonore tried to contain it, and another gentle, just like Petra herself was.

Only after a couple of minutes did the brunette feel content and released her. The first thing Odilie did was giving Hanji an extremely annoyed look which reminded of a glare more than anything and brushing her hair with her fingers. The researcher only grinned at her, as she made her way to the two blondes, Hanji trailing behind.

"Good morning, you two." Leo fell into a salute which brought an immediate smile on Odie's face. The younger girl had one of the most beautiful salutes in the Legion. Then again, it stemmed not from the posture but from the sincere feelings behind it… There weren't many people who greeted her like that…

Petra said her own greetings – simple but true – along with Zoe and the four females made their way to the duty board that was only short ways away. A small talk began among the trio, as Leo fell behind them a step. Odilie didn't even notice when they were already at their destination in just a couple of minutes.

"So what do we have today?" The four crowded around it and Hanji beamed the second her eyes found her assignment. Her hands were put together and eyes were shinier than the sun itself.

"Research! Did you know that…-" And that's where she went into telling about her latest 'adventures'. Odilie tuned out immediately. Not only had she heard the same thing yesterday she was also helping her with it until late at night. And it was universal truth that once Hanji began talking about this she couldn't shut up or be shut up…

"Cleaning duty…" Petra sighed, ignoring titan lover as well, and Odilie snickered at her and Leo's expressions. Most groups had some sort of cleaning and she knew she will have it as well. Their duties were almost always same – if cleaning then all of them had it, if free – then all of them enjoyed their days off. That was simply the way the groups had been made.

Well, there were also those rare exceptions when Odilie would be put on research along with Hanji and the madwoman would try to pry every single memory about her previous expeditions out of her head. That was followed with numerous reports, both old and new… And that was precisely what she had yesterday. Odilie didn't even doubt that this was the reason why her head refused to remember anything right now…

"I'd rather be training…" The blonde fifteen-years old mumbled under her breath and Odie patted her on the head, grinning. Hanji was still talking to thin air and earning amused looks from passersby.

"Yea. Would do some good for you." Leo gave her best friend a look and Odie laughed. It was always fun to tease the younger girl, especially since it was so hard to predict her reactions, having in mind how shy and composed she usually was. Still, even if she said it jokingly, Odilie really thought that Leonore needed a lot of training to get through the expeditions without needing someone to save her… She had lost count of how many times she had already done that…

"Ah." Petra's voice made her snap out of it and look at the woman on her other side.

"What is it?" Odie asked and followed her other best friend's hand as she pointed at the board. Odilie's eye twitched the second she saw it. Her left hand rose to her temple and began rubbing it. She could already feel a headache setting in…

Near the 4th group, which was hers and said 'laundry', there was another piece of paper pinned. It said 'Odilie Artz: meeting at 9'.

"That… man… He just…" She sighed, shaking her head. Then, she proceeded to rip it off and crumple it, violently with both hands.

"… You're not going?... Again?..." Petra's disbelieving voice reached her and the other woman shrugged. Instead of responding, she made her way to the nearest window and opened it, all the other females (Hanji included as she had woken up when Odilie moved) following her, curiously. Their eyes widened at her next action as the paper flew out the window.

Odie spun to them, hands on hips, a huge grin on her face.

"Here's your answer, Petra. And I hope Irvin finds th-" Suddenly Petra launched herself at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her down.

"Duck!" Odilie blinked in shock as Leo also fell on her knees, only Zoe was still standing. "Hanji!" Petra cried and the brunette blinked at the other females at her feet.

"Huh? Petra? What-" Odie began but the titan lover cut her off as she rushed to the window, making the trio scurry away from there at once, Petra dragging her by her hand. Then, Hanji waved, grinning like the madwoman that she was.

"Good morning, Levi!"

"Levi?" Odilie mouthed to Petra with a raised eyebrow and the blonde cried out in a whisper.

"You don't know who he is?! The Corporal! You hit him with it!" At this, Odilie's only thought was…

'_Fuck_.'

/*==*\

Although Corporal's face was as stoic and cold as ever, the entire yard which had witnessed the paper hit him square in the right side of his face didn't miss the shadow that appeared over his eyes. A couple of scouts backed away, slowly, as if trying not to attract their Corporal's attention in case he thought that they had thrown it. Though, they needn't worry about it because his eyes were firmly fixed at the crumbled paper that lay near his feet and he was well aware of where it had come from.

Slowly, Levi raised his gaze to the window where he heard someone yell "Duck!". It sounded suspiciously like Petra's voice, however he doubted it was her who had done this. The panic in her voice told him as much.

In the window, he saw Hanji looking dumbfounded to someone on the floor, who was hiding obviously. When her gaze rose and met his, she grinned, rushed to the windowsill and waved at him.

"Good morning, Corporal!" Clearly she wasn't the one who had chucked the paper too. Although she was crazy, she wasn't _that_ cracked.

With a steadily rising annoyance but an absolutely emotionless face, he watched how the brunette suddenly turned elsewhere in surprise. By now, most people had left the yard in a hurry.

"Eh? Guys! Where are you going? Wait for me!" In the silence he could hear how three pairs of footsteps rushed away as fast as they could. Hanji was about to follow but stopped, turned to him and yelled again. "Have a nice day, Corporal!" With that, she dashed off after someone.

Levi's eye twitched. Someone had the guts. And he wasn't talking about Hanji Zoe.

He positioned his gaze back to the paper at his feet and picked it up. After unfurling it, Levi knew immediately who had done this. The shadow over his eyes became seemingly darker, his pupils contracted even more. Then, his hand clenched the paper, crushing it in his grip.

'_Artz_.'

/*==*\

\*==*/

**General notes/rants**: Long story short: I'm stressed and probably will be for quite a while (oh, RL, give me a break T_T); this was written a week ago and I haven't got anything past this chapter but didn't want to make huge delays between updates; I have no idea when the next chapter comes out. Still, this _will_ be updated as soon as my stress levels are down. Hope you're looking forward to it!

**Summary**: Yep. It has changed. Again XD Though, I'm already fine with it so no more changes are planned…

**SnK facts/errors/grammar mistakes**: Found any? Don't hesitate to let me know! Any mistake I correct early on will help me to write later!

**Disclaimer**: Characters which you do not recognize belong to me. Everything else belongs to their rightful owners.

Thank you for reading, enjoying, favoring, following and/or reviewing!


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